Improvement in fifth-wheels for carriages



P. 'S. EASTMAN.

Improvement in Fifth-Wheels for Carriages;

-N0 114,539. Patented May 9,1871.

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PETER S. EASTMAN, OF WASHINGTON MILLS, NEV YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN FIFTH-WHEELS FOR CARRIAGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. I [4,539, dated May 9, 1871.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, PETER S. EASTMAN, of Washington Mills, in the county of Oneida and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Bob-Sleighs, Wagons, Cars. 850.; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a detail vertical section of my improved device. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same. Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section of a modification of the same. Fig. 4 is a detail horizontal section of the same, taken through the line y 9 Fig. 3.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

My invention has for its object to improve the construction of bobsleighs, wagons, carriages, ears, and other vehicles, to facilitate their passage over rough or uneven ground by avoiding the necessity of using the pin or king-bolt which passes through the rocker, saddle,and beam of the bob sleigh and through the rocker, sand-board, and axle of the wagon, and which greatly weakens the said parts; and it consists in the construction and combination of certain parts of a ball-and-socket connection, as hereinafter more fully described.

A represents the top or pivot plate, to which the ball B is attached or upon which it is formed.

0 is the bottom plate, in which is formed a socket, D, to receive the said ball 13.

E are slides which enter dovetailed grooves in the top of the bottom plate, 0, from its opposite sides. The inner ends of the slides E are recessed or concaved in their middle part to iit around the neck of the ball B, the side parts of the said inner ends meeting upon the central line of the plate 0, as shown in Fig. 2. The slides E thus form the upper part of the socket D, and they are secured in place in the grooves in the plate 0 by bolts d passing through them and through the plate 0. This construction allows the plate 0 and the part of the vehicle to which it is attached to be inclined at an angleof forty-five degrees (45) with the body of the vehicle.

To enable the ordinary pin or king-bolt connection to have this movement, the parts connected have to be much cut away, and consequently greatly weakened, which weakening is entirely avoided by my improvement, which, instead of weakening, greatly strengthens the parts connected, and forms a firm connection.

Figs. 3 and 4 represent my device as moditied for attachment to wagons where very little rock is required. In this case the ball B may be flattened and may be notched upon its sides, similar notches being made in the edges of the socket D at right angles with the notches of the ball B, when the plate A is in its ordinary or working position, as shown in Fig. 4, so that by turning the plate A one-quarter around, the plate A and ball B may be raised from the plate 0 and socket D.

a c are projections cast upon the plates A 0, through which the bolts pass that secure the said plates to the wood-work. The projections a. c are let into the wood and take the strain.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The top or pivot plate, A, ball B, bottom or socket plate, 0, and socket D, in combination with each other, and, whether the slides E be used or not, to adapt them for attachment to the wood-work of a vehicle, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the pun pose set forth.

PETER S. EASTMAN.

\Vitnesses:

GEORGE E. EASTMAN, VAR-KEN VAN ALLEN. 

